Baker completes railroad
The project was completed on October 23, 1875, making the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad Co. the first railroad company operating in Washington Territory. In 1876, its first full year of shipping from Walla Walla to Wallula, the railroad hauled 15,266 tons of export grain—wheat, barley, oats, flaxseed, and flour. D.S. Baker ordered a six-wheel locomotive, the Blue Mountain, from Porter, Bell & Co. in Pittsburgh in 1877. In January 1879, Baker sold his railroad to the Oregon Steamship Navigation Company, which in turn was bought in July 1879 by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. Thus, the O.R.&N. Co. lettering marks the locomotive’s cab.